Beifong Style
by Ignorant Sparrow
Summary: Why the situation involving Meelo suddenly felt nostalgic?


Ever since Meelo was allowed a personal glider, he made it a habit to sneak out and visit Lin at the police head quarters.

It wasn't once or twice the Air Temple Island got called by Lin's very harassed sounding assistant, asking to pick the little boy up from the chief hands.

"Master Tenzin, this is the fifth time. PLEASE COME AND GET YOUR SON! THEY ARE DRIVING ME MAD!" Nina yelled over the phone in hysteria. Tenzin stared at the mouth piece, which was a good feet away from his ear. And with a loud 'thud' the phone went dead.

"We should ground him and his glider!" Pema said, nursing the toddler Rohan in the cradle.

"Yes! Or else, Nina will throw ME in jail." Tenzin mumbled. "If only Lin tells him off, just once!"

"You know, I never thought Lin would allow Meelo to bug her over and over again like this." Pema scratched her tired head. "How uncharacteristic of her!"

Tenzin spared her a look that said she knew a very little about Lin. "I'd better get going."

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"Nina! NINA!" Lin yelled, making the young girl purse her lips and roll her eyes. "Could you attend to those folders, we just-" She shared a guilty glance with Meelo, "had a little accident."

"Of course chief" Nina gritted her teeth, looking down at the fifty or so folders, scattered pell-mell on the floor. "I've already reorganized them five times already, sixth time will be fun!"

"Aunt Lin was showing me how to pick my nose, Beifong style." Meelo smiled sheepishly from atop Lin's desk. "It made me sneeze!"

Nina tried hard not to glare at her boss. "Of course, Meelo!" She said with a grimace. As Nina started stacking the folders back in place, rather aggressively so, Tenzin peeped from behind the door frame, knocking courteously on the door, which was already ajar.

Both Lin and Meelo stood up from their respective seats, in meelo's case, using air bending to jump down from the desk. The twirling air current he bended made the pen holder on Lin's desk flew right at Nina. Luckily Lin's cables caught it from an inch behind Nina's head, right before it hit her. Meelo gave Lin a salute in gratitude which Lin returned very seriously.

"I'm sorry Lin!" Tenzin said, walking up to her desk where Meelo stood. "This won't happen again. As by today, Meelo's gliding privileges are limited."

"Your kids, your punishments!" Lin said. "Suit yourself, but Meelo was just visiting. Wasn't much trouble having him here."

"Of course not!" Nina stood up, practically shooting the words out. "I only re-do the folder cabinet for six times, and not to mention he put on a rather impressive bubbles display using the chief's tea and his air bending. Cleaning the office from ceiling to floor would not be a tiresome task!" She stopped to breath.

Meelo looked up at Lin, who simply shrugged. "I thought it was great." She said nodding in a noncommittal manner.

Tenzin tugged at his beard a several times, looking from Meelo to Lin to Nina. "Nina, I'll make sure not to send him this way again." He assured the fuming girl who stood by the cabinet, five to six folders piled on her hands.

"Seems like my abrasiveness is contagious!" Lin mumbled audibly as Nina openly huffed and dumped the folders harshly on to their respective shelves, muttering "You already said that, twice before!"

"Lin!" Tenzin said, taking Meelo's hand in his. "Would you consider having tea with us at the Island? I need a word with you."

"About?" Lin asked, crossing her arms, while an excited Meelo looked up at her expectantly.

Tenzin dropped his gaze towards Meelo and quickly met Lin's eyes before he spoke. "About the next council meeting" He said tilting his head towards his hyper son.

"Yes chief" Nina, who took Tenzin's hint, ran to Lin's side. "You should go have some tea and talk about the _'next council meeting' _with master Tenzin. _Council meetings_ are becoming very intense."

Lin raised an eyebrow at Nina's desperate self. "Meelo, do you like to see the police gymnasium?" She asked the young air bender.

"YES!" Meelo jumped up. "Will you go with me? We can play tag!"

"May be next time". Lin said. "Nina will take you today!"

Nina groaned, dropping her shoulders and balling her fists. "I'll give you rest of the day off". Lin muttered in compensation.

"Oh', OK!" Meelo shrugged his father's hand and grabbed Nina's.

"What about the '_next council meeting'_?" Lin asked Tenzin as they watched Meelo dragged Nina out.

"Meelo is, well," Could you just tell him off the next time he gets here?" Tenzin asked, dragging a hand down his face.

"I thought there won't be a next time!" Lin said, both the sets of her index and middle fingers air quoting the phrase, 'the next time', as it left her lips.

"Oh' trust me, there will be!" Tenzin nodded. "And soon!"

"and you want me to do the dirty work, for you?" Lin asked, her eyes narrowing. "Some things never change!"

Tenzin fidgeted on the spot, examining a thread came out of his saffron robe sleeve. "Please?" He added, not daring to look at Lin.

"No!" Lin said sitting back on her seat. "Now get out of my office, Meelo wasted my morning, at least he was fun to have around."

"Lin, please, He's just so much like you!" Tenzin said placing his two palms on Lin's desk and leaning forward. "Very serious, when it comes to business, but unruly otherwise!"

"WHAT!" Lin barked, standing up. "Are you blaming me for you brat's behavior?"

"No no!" Tenzin held up his hands in defense. "It's just- See, He'd listen to you!"

"I'll tell him off, if he does something that deserves been told off," Lin crossed her arms once more. "Until and unless, your son is your problem! _And responsibility_"

"You have to get rid of him! Or else, you'd have to find a new assistant soon!" Tenzin played a card, a serious one this time.

"Nah! Nina complains a lot but won't leave because of a six-year-old." Lin waved a dismissive hand. "Accidents have happened to people who bug her before though. So, you might want to watch your step."

Tenzin gulped. "Just tell him off! Use the powers of your intimidation just once on him, tell him you are busy and to stop dropping by! Tell him you'd visit him at the Air Temple Island instead!" He threw his hands airily up, to Lin's amusement.

"No! First of all, why would I meet him at the Island? Second of all, he never drops by when I'm busy, So, why bother?"

Tenzin glared at her. "You are enjoying this, aren't you?!" He asked. "OK, let's try something. You don't have to tell him off. Come and have dinner once a week at the Island instead, like in the good old days. That way Meelo gets to meet you, and he stays home without troubling you and Nina!"

"I don't have to do anything!" Lin rolled her eyes. "Why don't you and Pema deal with your son, and leave me out of it?"

"We wish we could!" Tenzin whined. "He loves you very much, can't stop talking about you since the day you jumped off Oogie. And during his first few visits, you've spoiled him too much."

"Why do I feel like I'd have to feel guilty about all that?" Lin asked as the corners of her mouth dragged downwards. "And I did not spoil him. Played along a few games-"

"It's not reasonable to tell him not to visit you!" Tenzin interrupted her. "If we say you are too busy, he'd suggest visiting you at your house."

Lin took a defensive step backwards. "He did?"

Tenzin saw he had the upper hand of the conversation right then. "Yes. He thinks it'd be fun to sit and watch you do house chaos and offer any help if needed." Lin fidgeted on the spot. Having Meelo in her office was one thing. She had Nina to worry about the havoc the kid usually made.

"I- My house is not a good place for a kid to hang around." Lin babbled. "Besides, I'm almost never home."

"I know!" Tenzin dramatically opened his arms. "That's why we can solve this by you coming to dinner at Air Temple Island every now and then."

A lopsided smile appeared on Lin's tightly pursed lips. "I'll pass!" She said simply.

Tenzin waited for an elaboration which never came. "May I ask why?" He couldn't stop himself from saying.

Lin closed her eyes, took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, not wanting to admit she still felt uncomfortable been an outsider at the place where she once called home. "You know what, I'll tell him off!" She said looking up at him. "Happy?"

Tenzin observed her closely. "He'll ask why" He said. "What are you gonna say to him? And what makes it so hard to drop by, you are hardly a stranger, your influence is invaluable on kids."

"You want me to spend the only free time I have with your merry band of airbenders?" Lin asked walking around the desk and towards the door"

Tenzin followed her, knowing full well that she's about to run away from his question, Beifong style.

"Yeah. You have before" He said, watching her putting on the overcoat.

"My days of entertaining airbenders are long gone" She said boldly, securing the final button in place.

"You were entertaining Meelo!" Tenzin said avoiding the biting part of her sentence.

Lin's playful self had suddenly vanished. She sounded testy all of a sudden. "which was clearly a mistake. I'll make sure Meelo does not visit me ever again like this. That's what you wanted right? Now, get your butt out of my office! I've got work to do!"

"Lin please," Tenzin sounded as if he was pleading, "Don't do that! Don't evade like an airbender from this situation."

Lin turned around to face him, her arms crossed and eyebrows knitted together.

"You'll break his heart, Beifong style." Tenzin said, looking directly at Lin.

The glare Lin shot at the airbending master was enough to evaporate him on the spot. But Tenzin wasn't any other airbender. He'd been at the receiving end of that glare many times before.

"I don't know how you interpret 'breaking a heart' Tenzin, but there's only one in this room" Lin said through gritted teeth. "Airbenders are so self-centered, they complain when you keep them company and they complain when you don't. So I guess I'm better off any airbender. Meelo will find a suitable entertainer soon enough. It's in his blood."

Tenzin kept looking at Lin. His expression was hard to be read. He knew, there was truth in what Lin said.

Lin broke away from his gaze, not wanting to fall back in to their old routine of 'stare to blink' and argue over the same topic for hours. "I'm going out for lunch. Collect Meelo from Nina. Next time he drops by, I'll talk to him."

With that she walked out of the office, leaving Tenzin flabbergast, his arm stretched forward as if to stop her. But Lin had him silenced, Beifong style.


End file.
